6th June, 2023
By Nehru Odeh
Manchester City have been hit with an injury blow ahead of Saturday’s Champions League final in Istanbul.
Kylie Walker, the club’s right back is currently nursing an injury that could rule him out of that important final, which Man. City is aiming to win to complete a treble this season.
Ahead of their final assignment of the season, Walker, who has been in superb form this season, wasn’t present for their training session at the City Football Academy on Tuesday afternoon, Daily Mail reported.
This is indeed a cause for concern for Man. City’s sweat merchant Pep Guardiola, who is aiming to win the Champions League title with the club for the first time this season.
Walker has been integral to their impressive form over recent months, with his pace and defensive acumen particularly evident as he successfully shackled Vinicius Jr. in their Champions League semi-final 5-1 aggregate victory over Real Madrid.
His absence from training is as of yet unexplained. If fit, the 33-year-old, who impressed in the FA Cup final on Saturday as he helped to largely shackle United’s attack – would be expected to start in Istanbul.
Since joining the club back in 2017 from Tottenham, Walker has made 253 appearances and won 13 trophies – including five Premier League titles.
City head to Istanbul to face Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium on Saturday, aiming to become the first side since arch-rivals Manchester United in 1998-99 to win a historic Treble.
They are fresh off lifting the FA Cup after beating United 2-1 at the weekend, with Ilkay Gundogan’s two goals enough to settle the tie.